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Broadway
Broadway is a gargoyle, a member of the Manhattan Clan, and a member of the destroyed Wyvern Clan. He, along with Brooklyn, and Lexington make up the trio. History Like the other founding gargoyles of the Manhattan Clan, he survived the 994 slaughter and was cursed to sleep as a statue for a thousand years. In the modern world, Broadway developed fast likings for Western and detective movies and cooking. He also made fast friends with the NYPD detective, Elisa Maza, possibly to a greater extent than any of the other gargoyles except Goliath. While visiting Elisa, Broadway finds her gun and imitates gunslingers that he had seen in a movie. In the process, he accidentally shoots and seriously wounds Elisa. Though she survives, and bears him no ill will for his actions, they both learn a valuable lesson about gun safety. Broadway takes it upon himself to destroy any firearm he finds, and Elisa learns to keep her weapon properly secured. In fact, the event seemed to only bring the two closer together, and later Broadway was often seen aiding Elisa in her police cases serving as her unofficial "partner" using skills he picked up from watching detective movies. He and Hudson came to realize the value of the written word after awaking in Manhattan. After this, he discovers a taste for poetry and the dramatic arts, particularly Shakespeare, as he is seen reading from Romeo and Juliet in the library of the Eyrie Building. Following Goliath's return at the end of the Avalon World Tour, Broadway began courting Angela, Goliath's newly discovered daughter, as did Brooklyn and Lexington. After she expressed her frustration with them, Angela ultimately chose Broadway, as he saw her as the person she was, rather than simply an object to be won. Likely their relationship began to develop when they were briefly possessed by two of the souls that made up the gargoyle Coldstone, the lovers previously trapped within. Future Tense In the "Future Tense" illusion, Broadway was blind, having lost his eyes in the resistance against Xanatos. His skin had also turned from blue to a light green and was covered in numerous scars. To compensate for his lack of eyes, he war a high tech collar, designed by Lexington, around his neck, which allowed him to detect his environment, presumably through sonar. He eventually died after an attack by the Thailog Shock Troops. Characteristics The large, round, and bluish green-skinned gargoyle called Broadway is a jolly and occasionally naive clan member with a fondness for food (even using food as a weapon on some occasions), as well as Westerns and detective movies. He is named after the famous Manhattan street known for its prominent American theater industry. He has the largest wings of all the group and has small bat wing-like structures as his ears. He is loyal, reliable, friendly and quite intelligent despite his appearance, and was the main focus of several of the show's more thought-provoking episodes. In the modern world, Broadway developed fast likings for Western and detective movies and cooking. He also made fast friends with the NYPD detective, Elisa Maza, possibly to a greater extent than any of the other gargoyles except Goliath. Broadway was the lead protagonist of the episode "Deadly Force", a famously controversial episode that was banned from airing on television for many years. In it, Broadway finds Elisa's gun and imitates gunslingers that he had seen in a Western movie. In the process, he accidentally shoots and seriously wounds Elisa. Though she survives, and bears him no ill will for his actions, they both learn a valuable lesson about gun safety. Broadway takes it upon himself to destroy any firearm he finds, and Elisa learns to keep her weapon properly secured. In fact, the episode seemed to only bring the two closer together, and later Broadway was often seen aiding Elisa in her police cases serving as her unofficial "partner" using skills he picked up watching detective movies. Broadway seems to have been the gargoyle of choice for writers who intended to ground their stories in the real world, because of his down-to-Earth nature. Several stories featuring human criminals had only Broadway (and leader Goliath) in pivotal roles. Broadway also appeared in a main role during the pro-literacy episode "Lighthouse in a Sea of Time", in which both he and Hudson (both previously illiterate) come to realize the value of the written word. After this in subsequent episodes, the gargoyles diligently struggle to master reading. Along the way, Broadway discovers a taste for poetry and the dramatic arts, particularly Shakespeare, as he is seen reading from Romeo and Juliet in the final canon broadcast episode of the series. Following Goliath's return at the end of the Avalon World Tour, Broadway began courting Angela, Goliath's newly discovered daughter, as did Brooklyn and Lexington. After she expressed her frustration with them, Angela ultimately chose Broadway, as he saw her as the person she was, rather than simply an object to be won. Likely this was helped by the episode "Possession", in which they were briefly possessed by two of the personalities that made up the gargoyle Coldstone, two lovers that are called Othello and Desdemona. Appearance Physically, Broadway is big and somewhat overweight, with aquamarine skin, a bald head, and fin-like ears. Fitting his bulky size, Broadway has the widest wingspan among his Rookery brothers. He also has an underbite. Age Though not stated out right in the series, Broadway hatched in 958, and was approximately thirty-six at the time of the Wyvern Massacre, which is a Gargoyles biological equivalent to eighteen. After the curse is broken in 1994, Broadway, like the rest of his clan gained a further thousand years (for the purpose of simplicity these will not be counted as part of his age). The most resent issues of the comic take place three years later in 1997, making Broadway thirty-nine, or the gargoyles biological equivalent to about nineteen. Notes * According to Greg Weisman, Broadway is Hudson's biological son, though neither of them are aware of this, nor likely would they consider that fact significant (in Gargoyle culture, all clan members are viewed as parents). * Also according to Greg Weisman, Broadway had an elder sister, referred to as Hyppolyta. Both she and their mother died prior to the Wyvern Massacre. * Neither Broadway, nor Hudson, could read prior to "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time". ** They beagn making efforts to do so at the end of the same episode, and are seen to be capable of it in later episodes. * In the future, he and Angela would have two sons and a daughter (named Artus, Gwenyvere and Lancelot), and a grandson (or great grandson) Samson, the hero of the proposed spin-off Gargoyles 2198. *Broadway grew out of a female gargoyle character from the comedy development. She was first called "Isa Dora," then "Coco." She shared Broadway's general body type and gentle personality. She loved to sing and dance, but had little talent for either. When she was being considered as part of the action-drama cast, she was renamed "Belushi." With a change of gender and a couple of other modifications, this gargoyle evolved into Broadway. The "Coco" name was later reused as a nickname for the London Clan gargoyle Constance, who shares some traits with the original Coco. *Two stone gargoyles with a striking resemblance to Broadway appear in the pilot episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man: one which Spider-Man web-slings past along with a stone Goliath and Hudson, and later another which is destroyed while Spider-Man battles the Vulture and the Enforcers. Appearances *as an illusion References Category:Characters Category:Gargoyles Category:Male gargoyles Category:Wyvern Clan Category:Manhattan Clan